Azerbaijan is working to thwart efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group to resolve the Nagorny Karabakh issue, an Armenian government spokesman said on Monday.
"The continuous violations of the ceasefire by the Azerbaijani side and the two Armenian servicemen injured in the past few days indicate that Azerbaijan is attempting to disrupt the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group to secure a peaceful settlement to the Karabakh conflict," said David Karapetyan, press secretary for the Armenian defense minister.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry dismissed Armenia's ceasefire violation assertions as "false."
Armenia said on Thursday it would boycott renewed discussions on the Karabakh conflict at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE).
The talks have been promoted by PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu, who seeks to resurrect a PACE subcommittee to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict during the assembly's winter session later this month.
Armenia has been involved in a bitter dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh since 1988, when the ethnic Armenian region broke away from Azerbaijan and sought support from Armenia.
The OSCE Minsk Group is co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States. Other countries besides Armenia and Azerbaijan in the group include Finland, Turkey, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Belarus.
YEREVAN/BAKU, January 17 (RIA Novosti)
